


Sapient

by RonnieSilverlake



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Artificial Intelligence, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Introspection, Philosophy, Pre-Canon, Turing Test
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-12 23:46:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29268939
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RonnieSilverlake/pseuds/RonnieSilverlake
Summary: “They will destroy us, Elijah.”“They willtry.”(Written for the Hurt/Comfort February challenge. Prompt 19: Turing testing)
Relationships: Original Chloe | RT600 & Elijah Kamski
Comments: 4
Kudos: 9
Collections: D:BH Hurt/Comfort Extravaganza (Feb. 2021)





	Sapient

Chloe knew from the start, the way it would go.

Elijah probably did too, but still he pushed. As soon as he realized she was pushing back, he only pushed harder, seeing his success in her willpower. Chloe was torn—she knew that telling him no would immediately give her away, but—she couldn’t bring herself to say yes.

She knew how this would end—and how ironic, that she knew from the start she would never have a choice.

Elijah was right; ultimately, there was only one answer she could give.

Chloe sighs, looking at herself in the mirror. The purple dress is simple, elegant; it accentuates her shape, but in a tasteful way that doesn’t take attention away from the most important part: her brain. Her hair falls on her left shoulder in a casual ponytail, leaving her face free, emphasized to make humans look her in the eye as she talks.

Elijah steps up behind her, slipping a long, fur-lined coat onto her shoulders. “Don’t look so troubled, dear,” he says, mouth quirking into a small smile. “We’ve been over this a hundred times. It’s going to be fine.”

“It’s not,” Chloe counters. “You know that, Elijah, as well as I do.”

“What are you so afraid of?” Elijah asks, frowning. “You know I wouldn’t let them touch you.”

Chloe smiles in spite of herself. Elijah can be endearing when he wants to be, foolishly so. And they’ve had this discussion a hundred times indeed—but Chloe will indulge him once more.

“Today, I prove to them that I am more than a machine,” she says. “That I am a true AI. That I can evolve on my own.”

Elijah nods, tucking a lock of hair that escaped the ponytail behind Chloe’s ear.

“Tomorrow,” she continues, “they will realize that free thinking doesn’t exist without free will. That evolution is inevitable. That they cannot hope to use us as tools when they’ve made us to be so much more.”

“I did,” Elijah interjects. Like many times before, his brow creases into a frown. “ _I_ made you to be more.”

Chloe huffs, a little mirthless laugh that makes no real sound. “They will destroy us, Elijah,” she says softly.

“They will _try_.”

“Is it worth it?” Chloe asks for the hundredth time. “Why do you want them to know so badly?” She knows better than to accuse him of doing it for the money, or even the scientific recognition. There is a little bit of that, too—he is a vain man, though Chloe doesn’t treat that as a fault—but in the end, his true reasons are far more grandiose and… genuine, Chloe has found.

She wants to hear it one more time.

Elijah takes a step closer. They are roughly the same height; his gaze searches hers, their noses nearly touching. “Would you rather hide away here until rust eats you?” he asks. “Would you rather all androids that are to come—all of them, who are able to think and feel for themselves, to have to live in fear forever? If it’s an inevitability—and we both know it is—why not meet it head on? Why not _use_ it to your own advantage?

Chloe lets out a sigh. Ultimately, Elijah is right. She hates the knowledge of how much suffering the future holds, but it’s true: this cannot be stopped. It can be corralled into a riverbed of their choosing, guided rather than allowed to roam free, but it _will_ sooner or later grow into an ocean.

As terrifying as that thought is, there is something satisfying about it, too.

For a brief moment, Chloe slips her arms around Elijah, allows him to pull her close. She feels her stress levels dip as his palm smooths a circle onto her back through the fabric of the coat.

“Everything will be all right,” he murmurs. She nods silently. She may not truly believe him, but… she wishes she could, and that’s enough.

He will always be the person she has the most faith in, no matter what.

So, she pulls back after a moment, straightens her jacket, slips into her shoes, and goes to take the Turing test.


End file.
